In order to protect Israeli civilians from attacks by the Hamas terrorist organization, the IDF lawfully enforces a naval blockade on the Gaza Strip. Given previous attempts by the Hamas terrorist organization in smuggling weapons via land and sea and the inherent difficulties in conducting inspections at sea, it is critical that Israeli forces inspect all goods and material marked for Gaza prior to their transfer into Gaza. Thus, the Israel Navy will be forced to intercept the Gaza flotilla if it attempts to break the legally enforced naval blockade.

This week, the Israel Navy conducted an integrated exercise simulating all possible scenarios in the event that the Gaza flotilla attempts to breach the legally enforced naval blockade on Gaza.